''I. C. Woodward'' was a side-wheel

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

launched in July 1898 by Andrew Axton & Son Co. of

West Brownsville, Pennsylvania West Brownsville is a former important transportation nexus and a present-day borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 972 at the 2020 census. Culturally, by post ...

, for the Pittsburgh, Brownsville and Geneva Packet Company. She was named for ship captain Isaac C. Woodward. ''I. C. Woodward'' was long by wide with a draft. She had 50

stateroom A state room in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed for use when entertaining royalty. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly decorated in ...

s with additional passenger room in her

texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. ''I. C. Woodward'' ran the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

twice weekly between

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, and

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

, between 1898 and 1911. She is known to have traveled farther south to

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...

, once in 1912 and again in October 1913. Steamboats in the big river parade 1913

On 27 September 1913 she took part in a parade celebrating

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia Co ...

's 125th anniversary. The parade consisted of 30 steamboats which sailed from

Monongahela Wharf The Monongahela Wharf was the key wharf of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Monongahela River. It was in use from the late 19th century until the dam was built in the Ohio river, causing it to be underwater. It was used by steamb ...

down the Ohio to the Davis Island Dam. The boats in line were the parade flagship ''Steel City'' (formerly the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati packet ''Virginia''), ''City of Parkersburg'', ''Charles Brown'', ''Alice Brown'', ''Exporter'', ''Sam Brown'', ''Boaz'', ''Raymond Horner'', ''Swan'', ''Sunshine'', ''I. C. Woodward'', ''Cruiser'', ''Volunteer'', ''A. R. Budd'', ''J. C. Risher'', ''Clyde'', ''Rival'', ''Voyager'', ''Jim Brown'', ''Rover'', ''Charlie Clarke'', ''Robt. J. Jenkins'', ''Slipper'', ''Bertha'', ''Midland'', ''Sam Barnum'', ''Cadet'', ''Twilight'', and ''Troubadour''. She was removed from service in 1913, sold to a group in either New Albany or

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, and was converted into an excursion steamer named ''Virginia''. In January 1915 (as ''I. C. Woodward'') she was bought for $10,000 by an

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

man, who wished to use her for the summer excursion business on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, where she would be in opposition to the ''John S. Hopkins'', which ran between Evansville and

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...

, every Sunday. There were also plans for occasional river excursions in and out of

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. The steamer was in need of $9,000 worth of repair which were scheduled to be undertaken in Evansville starting that same month. She was purchased by a group from

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, and operated as ''City of Charleston'' from 1919 to 1921. On 21 May 1921 she was laid up in

Gallipolis, Ohio Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of Chillicothe and 44 miles northwest of Charlesto ...

, for new boilers before resuming duties on the Monongahela River when she caught fire and was destroyed along with a pumpboat owned by the Hickey Transportation Company of Cincinnati, which was tied up alongside her. The total loss of the ''Charleston'' was posted as $40,000.

Incidents

In August 1902, ''I. C. Woodward'', captained by S. S. Brown, raced the steamship ''Elizabeth'', piloted by Sam Hendrickson and Irwin Boyd, down the Monongahela River to Lock 9. The boats finished in a dead heat, jamming the entrance to the lock. Both ships refused to yield, blocking entry to all others. Finally, ''I. C. Woodward'' owner ordered Captain Brown to stand down and move ''Woodward'' aside. In September 1902, she sank along with a horse after running into the tow of the steamer ''Twilight'' near Redstone Creek in

Fayette County, Pennsylvania Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county w ...

. She was raised after 28 days.

References

{{reflist 1898 ships Paddle steamers of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Ships built in Pennsylvania Riverboats Steamboats of the Monongahela River